The Lines that Divide Us
by Gigiro
Summary: Hiding himself in a society of thieves and assassins, Gray isolated himself away from society hoping that he would never have to raise a blade again. When a ship comes to his town in need of repairs he wants nothing more than for them to leave and be out of his hair, but the Force (and his little droid) seem to have other plans. Follows after TLJ. [Rey, OC]


_Hello all! Gigiro here for my second post, but my first major one. I hope you enjoy, and please remember I would love your feedback. The reason I am writing fanfics is to work on literary devices for my own stories, so I may grow as a writer. If there is something you love, hate, think could use some work, or is just perfectly done then I want to hear it. Don't be shy, and if you are then feel free to PM me. Hope to hear from you soon!_

 _Remember I do not own anything you recognize._

Chapter 1

He exhaled slowly as he stretched out along the ground, hand wrapping around his bare feet. His purple eyes lifted as high as his sockets would allow before quietly inhaling as he released. The candle light flickered softly in the dark cave, illuminated only what was necessary for him to maneuver around. He was dressed in simple cloth clothes with a leather belt around his waist. A sigh escaped from him as his gaze was cast to the small chest that rested at the bottom of a rock formation, the top covered in a thick layer of dust and the lock beginning to show signs of age. It would have been easy for anyone to take a good hit at it and break it open, that is if anyone ever knew about it or its contents. He thought of the objects that were held within the aging container before a small red and white BB unit quietly rolled up to him, beeping softly and bumping into his back to gain his attention.

"What? Oh sorry, Red. I was just lost in memories. You said that a ship just landed?" He turned to look at the droid as he spoke. "What kind of a ship?"

The little droid whirred and beeped in response, her electronic voice echoing slightly down into the darkness of the cave, and the man chucked.

"Well, I suppose we better go make sure their stay is comfortable."

Whirring a shy response of happiness, Red rolled out of the dimly lit cave and into the housing portion of their home as he stood. Many might have considered his living situation squalor, but it was more than comfortable for him. His house was small and built by himself and his BB unit, and only had what they needed. Closing the hidden door behind him, the man smiled at the little droid as she rolled around the room, pushing his boots towards the chair in the kitchen for him. He walked over to the surveillance units that were set up on the wall to his right, pressing a few buttons to see what the scanners picked up about the new ship.

"A lot of life forms?" He mused to himself, but shrugged and then walked over to the kitchen chair to put his boots on while Red impatiently bobbed her head by the front door. "You can go on without me." He told her with mock detachment that made the little unit go suddenly still before shyly coming to his side and resting her head on his booted leg. He laughed at her. "Little Red, you know I wouldn't leave you."

She beeped quietly at him, making him smile and pat her lovingly. Donning a dark cloak that covered his form and face, and gloves to hide the last of his skin, he stepped out into the world with his droid close in tow. The air was slightly humid today, he observed as he took a deep breath and stated the trek towards town.

His planet was a small one, covered in massive mountain ranges and forests of trees that remained golden and red year round. Most of the planets business came from rich people wanting to see the landscape, however his town was not one of the ones that the tourists visited. It was filled with people willing to sell or do most illega m, ll things, all for a price, but it made for a good stop for fuel if one didn't want to be found or have questions asked. He did not fall under the "for sale" category, he was merely someone who didn't want to be found and didn't want question asked or eyebrows raised if he needed to kill someone to remain anonymous.

As he crested the hill overlooking the town of Doraku, he indeed saw a new ship docked at the port. It was a large ship and gray in color, an older model but well loved. When Red came up beside him she beeped quietly.

"Guess we'll find out." He told her, then continued on his trodden path.

Over the years of living in hiding, he decided to occupy his time by assisting in the travels of the innocent who accidentally stop at his town. If they came not looking for trouble, he would make sure they left without finding it. Now, if they wanted trouble, then he let them make their own decisions. Most of the other locals understood that he was not to be trifled with and left alone those he kept a watchful eye over. It was really only the drifters that gave him problems any more. They all had something to prove so going after the biggest guy in town was usually their plan. Sadly for them, very few survived to understand the error of their choices.

Red stayed close to his legs as he strode through the narrow streets to the only bar in town. Only a few heads turned as the door slip open quietly, but they all went back to their drinks quickly. His eyes scanned the patrons until they fell upon a group of three sitting around a table near the back. Making his way to the bar he seated himself so he could continue to watch them without arising suspicion with them.

"The usual." He said to the bartender, who grunted acknowledgment and placed a short glass with a deep red drink in it, in front of him. Playing with the glass in his gloved hand, he focused on the group. They were all humans, two male and one female, and each of them were leaned in and talking intently. It was the female currently talking, her hands moving with her as they story got more intense. Her brown hair was pulled back in a series of three loose buns, and the smallest of hairs fell out to halo her face delicately. The man directly to her right had a small amount of facial hair and a crooked smile while his female companion talked. His eyes had a sparkle for her that she seemed oblivious to.

Ah, young affections. The cloaked man took a swallow of his drink and his lips turned up at the familiar burn in his throat. He had seen enough bad endings to realize his self-imposed isolation was most likely a good thing. Many men and women had come to this very bar looking for someone to kill their spouse for whatever superficial reason, and each time he would hear their tales of woe he would shake his head at them and hope that they get the same one day.

The other male had dark skin and close cut dark hair. His back was to the man at the bar, but from his posture he was trying his best to pay attention. Another swallow and the glass was empty. He placed the glass on the bar and slit it away from himself.

"Keeping and eye on more travelers?" A metallic sounding voice came from his right, causing his gaze to be moved to the black painted assassin droid that now stood beside him. "Or is it to much to think you're here to actually enjoy yourself?"

The cloaked man chuckled. "Actually, LS, I took a job and now I'm here reveling in my spoils." He smiled as sarcasm seeped into his words. The droid froze for a moment but then relaxed when he realized the joke.

"You know, you could make a decent living selling yourself." At LS's comment, Red who had been observing the rest of the bar from behind the safety of her owners legs, whirred in distress and pressed against his shins. "Well, bufffth, to you too miss." The assassin droid responded to her, making a bad impression of her noise.

"No one would hire me in anyway that phrase could be taken." The cloaked man laughed, looking over at the only other being that he had conversations with. "It would either be to many morals, or to many horns." He joked as the bartender poured him another red drink.

"I'm sure you're attractive enough under that hood to get some form of business." LS paused for a moment. "What race are you again?"

"If I am lucky, you will never find out."

"Just like your real name, _Gray?_ " The droid mocked, causing his companion to laugh.

"Yes exactly." His purple eyes went back to the trio at the table. They denied ordering anything so the top sat empty of all but their hands. A tall male Twelek, armed with only a single blaster strapped to his hip, approached them, placing his hands on the table as he casually spoke about his services. The female looked confused at first and then applaud, while her male companions stood up in a defensive manor.

Taking the whole drink in one gulp, Gray placed the credits on the bar and stood up. "Looks like you might get a show, LS." He patted the droid on the shoulder as the Twelek refused to leave. "Come on, Red." He told the BB unit who beeped in response, following Gray closely as he strode to the table. The man with facial hair had his voice raised by the time he arrived.

"-don't want any!" He raised a fist to strike the xeno, but something held his hand in place.

"I don't think these nice travelers are sold with your pitch." Gray said, placing a hand on the Tweleks' shoulder.

"Who are you to say?" He sneered, shrugging off the hand and turning to face the cloaked man. No one else in the bar was watching besides the table. Fights were common in this town, and if it was a fight involving Gray, then they knew best to stay out of it. The man whos fist remained frozen in the air struggled to pull his appendage from its place, eyes darting between his hand and the cloaked man.

"Just a man in a cloak." He smiled despite no one being able to see it beneath the darkness of his hooded cover. The female now stood to see the situation with the males arm. They exchanged silent questions neither had the answer to, while the other male observed from his seat beside Gray. "Now kindly leave before I kill you."

"Oh is that so?" The Twelek narrowed his eyes and tried for a quick sucker punch to the gut, but Gray gracefully stepped to the side. With his aggressor stretched out before him, quicker than the other xeno could notice, he reached down and pulled the blaster out of its holster.

"For a merc you're not very good with your weapons." Gray teased, holding up the blaster to the head of the frozen Twelek. "Now kindly leave before I kill you." He repeated. The Twelek sneered but skulked off. "I'm keeping your toy." Gray called after him with a snicker, pulling the blaster into his cloak and attaching it to his belt. The invisible hold on the males hand was released, and he shook it as his fingers extended and retracted.

"What the hell was that?" He asked, stepping towards Gray.

"Yo many call me Gray. I keep the people not looking for trouble out of it." His voice was calm but uninterested.

"No I meant my hand! What did you-" The man was cut off.

"Sometimes answers come at a price to high to pay. That is one of them." The man huffed but dropped the subject as his female companion put a hand to his chest to stop him. "I suggest leaving as soon as you are able."

"BB what are you doing?" The man asked, and all eyes followed his as both of the BB units were deep in conversation. Red was quite a bit smaller than the orange unit, but they whirred and whistled at each other with Red being outside of her comfort zone of Grays legs. The orange unit turned towards his owner and whistled at him. "Her name is Red." He almost asked, and turned towards Gray. "So at least you know your colors."

"Poe!" The female chided and was going to continue when Gray began to laugh.

"Oh no you have seen past my carefully constructed rouse of intelligence!" He joked, and the man named Poe snickered with him. Gray then knelt to the ground and faced his little droid. "What do you say, Little Red?" She rolled to him and quietly beeped at him. "Oh is that so?" She beeped more. "Do you think we should help them?" Red became shy, then looked back at the orange unit and back to him. "You're the diplomat here." He held his hands up in defense, and she whirred softly to him, making him smile. "Alright then." Gray stood and turned to the others. "It seems you guys are in quite the predicament. Pretty far from your nearest base with a damaged ship and some real nasty people looking for you."

The man groaned, looking back at his unit. "B why did you tell them that?" His droid whirred in response. "I don't care if she's cute!" He sighed and pinched his nose between his eyes. "Really? This is how you act around droids you find attractive?"

Gray laughed at the exasperation of the man. "I'm just happy shes opened up to someone else. She's to shy for her own good. Not that I can blame her." His voice was almost loving when speaking about his droid. "I can assist in repairing the ship and providing shelter if needed."

"No I think we're good." The dark skinned man spoke for the first time, becoming extremely defensive as he moved around the table to stand closer to the female. "In fact I think it's time we left." He reached for her arm, but she snatched it away from him.

"Finn, we have someone who can help us." She tried to reason with him.

"Yeah, well last time I trusted someone who came sweeping in to save the day almost got me and Rose killed." He defended, looking at her hard.

"Well, you guys have fun with that." Gray said, gaining their attention again. "Red can give your little guy directions to our hut if you change your mind though." The red droid took her cue and beeped the directions to the other BB unit before following Gray out of the bar. "Do you think they'll come?" She whirred at him, and he smirked. "Never let it be said that droids don't have a sense of humor."

They had almost gotten out of town when a voice called his name. "Wait! Gray!" He turned to see the female and male with the droid running after him. "You used the Force, back there on Poes' hand. Didn't you?" She asked once she was close enough to talk in a low tone.

"That is a brash accusation." He replied, trying to keep any eaves droppers from making any rash conclusions. "If you think that is the case then I think I will resend my offer for help." Gray turned quickly causing his cloak to ruffle, and continued on his way back to his home.

Red beeped quietly, but looked back at the orange unit rolling over to him shyly. She whirred and beeped at him before turning and quickly following after her owner. As they reached their little hut, Gray heard his name being called again. A sigh escaped him as he turned and watched the female and Poe come over the small hill to the entrance of the garden that surrounded his hut. "I am sorry for saying that." The female said, resting her hand on his fence. "Please, can we talk?"

Gray looked down at Red who looked up at him from his feet. "You are in time-out, missy." He pointed a finger at her and she whirred sadly, drooping her head.

"Don't blame the droid." Poe spoke up, hands in his pockets. "She's just being nice. If she doesn't keep you in line then who well." He jested with a crooked smile.

Gray returned it with a chuckle. Perhaps in another life they would have been friends, but this one would not be that kind. "I suppose you're right." He turned and unlocked the door and held it open for his droid and the others. As the female passed him, the long ago familiar feeling twisted his gut in a comforting way. He smiled as the feeling filled him and then passed as she left his presence, she was none-the-wiser to the sensation. The orange droid rolled happily over to Red, whistling at her softly as they began to talk to one another again. "Red." Gray said in a stern voice, making her turn her attention to him for a moment. "You know the rules." She drooped her head and slowly rolled over to the kitchen where she sat with her back to the others. "Five minutes." He chuckled as she huffed and dipped her head more. Poe chuckled at the act of the little droid.

"Quite the lively one you got there." He said, pulling the chair out from the table next to the kitchen to sit on. "I think our two BB's could get into a lot of trouble together." Gray chuckled and agreed with him, watching as the little orange unit waited patiently for Red to be done with her punishment.

The female gravitated towards the bookshelf on the back wall, eyes skimming over the old spines and hand reaching up to pull ones out that caught her eye. She turned to Gray as she opened them and skimmed through the pages, realizing they were in a different language.

"What language is this in?" She asked, brown eyes looking up at him in curiosity.

"My native language." Gray replied, turning his head towards her. "You know if you wanted to see inside my house you could have just asked." He smiled and sat on the edge of the bed that was to the left of the door.

"No. I did want to talk to you." She trailed off, putting the book back and pulling out another and flipping through the pages.

Gray turned to Poe. "Is she always like this?"

"Not from what I've seen."

"Well in that case." The cloaked man stood up and walked across his one room house to the female, gently taking the book out of her hand and putting it back. "Since you are so distractable right now, how about we put this down and talk about what ever it is you wanted to talk about." He smiled again despite her crinkling her nose at him. She turned and stood next to her companion, hands fiddling with each other.

"I know you used the Force, back in the bar." She said, and Gray sighed quietly while he shook his head.

"You know the First Order is looking for the heads of all Force Users, right?" He leaned against the bookshelf, crossing his arms over his chest under his cloak.

"If that is what you are afraid of then we can help you. We are with the Resistance." She said back to him, smile gracing her face and lighting up her eyes. It was a good look on her.

"If you are a Force User, we could really use someone like you." Poe added in. "What you did back there was really effective. Imagine actually being in combat."

Gray shook his head again. "I have seen more than my shares worth of combat. You don't need the trouble I would bring." His voice was calm, and heart steady.

"So you're just going to hide here in your little hut and hope the First Order never finds you?" The female said, gesturing with her hands to his home.

"Wow. You make such a convincing point. Why did I not realize this sooner?" Grays' sarcasm was almost tangible, and Poe laughed despite himself.

"Why hide when you can make a difference? You could help save the universe." She continued, walking back across the room to him.

"Because not picking a side has made me stronger than either." His voice was firm, but not overbearing as he stood up straight. He noticed that she only came to his chest as he looked down at her with unseen eyes. A stiff silence fell over the room that Gray allowed to linger there as she thought of the implementations of the sentence. He sighed and smiled at her, suddenly aware of her age. She couldn't have been much younger than him, and from her style of clothing she couldn't have seen much of the universe growing up either. "Look. I can tell you're new to this, so lets' just call this an innocent mistake and forget about it. I'll help you fix your ship so you can get out of here as quickly as possible, so you can get to your base before the First Order finds you." He held his hand out for her to shake. She closed her eyes as she thought, and he could tell she was trying to find the answers with the Force. "It can't tell you everything. You do need to make decisions for your own." He whispered to her, smile growing in the darkness. Her eyes met his in surprise and then she smiled back at him as she relaxed.

"Alright then." She clasped her hand with his as they finalized their agreement. As they connected that comforting twist came to his innards again. Physical contact always made the feeling more intense, and those that were not sensitive enough to feel it through the air usually felt it thought touch. She, however, was blissfully unaware of the sensation thanks to a few things he kept up his sleeve. He was starting to get rusty if he could only feel her if she was within arms reach. If someone stronger came around then he would already be within striking distance. He made a note to himself to train more on that after they left. "Now can you tell me what's behind there?" Her voice took him from his thoughts as she pointed at his bookcase.

"Ah. That is only for people who are on a first name basis with me." He chuckled at her, walking over to his droid and patting her head. She looked up at him and whirred happily as he nodded and she rolled over to her orange counterpart.

"Well, I'm Rey and he's Poe." She said, motioning to each of them respectively, causing Gray to chuckle.

"Pleasure to meet you two. Though that makes me on a first name basis with you, you are not on a first name basis with me." He pointed out, walking back over to his bed and pulling out a small toolbox from underneath it.

"What are you talking about?" Poe asked, standing up and replacing his chair to its proper spot.

Gray turned towards him. "Think about it. I know you can do it." He teased, walking towards the door and holding it open for them to leave. Rey giggled at Poe as he thought hard about it, putting his chin in his hand as he walked out of the door with the droids close behind.

"Hey wait a sec. So your name's not Gray?" He exclaimed as their host locked the door behind them, causing the other two to laugh.

"No, good sir, it is not." He allowed for the other two to lead down the narrow path to town as they talked. "It is for the same reason you will never see my face."

"Is that because of the First Order?" Poe asked, looking over his shoulder at him.

"They are a factor but not the cause."

"Is it cause you're ugly?"

"Poe! Seriously?" Rey interjected, offended even though Gray was laughing.

"Oh unbelievably! Before I put this hood on you should have seen how the women ran!" The cloaked man ran with the joke, laughing with the other man. Rey smiled seeing the lightheartedness between them.

They talked lightly as they made their way back to town and then through it to the port where Poe and Rey lead him to their ship they called the Millennium Falcon. When they arrived it was close to sundown, and the world was beginning to grow dark with shadows, but Gray could still see several people running around at they attended to things and a very large furred creature actually working on the ship. As they grew near the furred creature hollered at them, and Gray smiled but didn't cower from the sound.

"A Wookie. Been a long time since I've seen one of them." He said as he turned his head up to see the creatures face. "What's you're name?"

The Wookie clammed up, scowling at the cloaked man.

"His name is Chewbaca." An older female voice came, making them look. It was an older woman with gray hair and the face of a hardened solder, walking down the ramp of the ship. His guts twisted again as soon as he saw her. So maybe he wasn't as rusty as he thought, perhaps Rey just hadn't been unearthed yet.

"Ah." Gray turned back to Chewbaca. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Chewbaca. You may call me Gray." The Wookies lips curled in a kind of smile as he cooed at him and then returned to work.

"Rey, Poe, it's good to see you back. I was worried when Finn returned saying you had run off with some shady individual." The woman said as she approached them.

"Shady individual? That is an understatement." Gray said with a smile and a joke in his voice, and the woman smiled kindly at him. "You may call me Gray. I am here to assist with your ship and to make sure the ruffians don't get to friendly with you."

"Ah well that's very kind of you." She said, nodding her head to him. "Poe, why don't you go check on Finn. Rey you can point Gray here in the right direction with the ship." Poe smiled at his traveling companions and boarded the ship, his droid hesitated as he acceded the ramp, looking back to Red who stayed by her owners side with a dipped head.

"Red, why don't you go with BB and Poe? I think you might be of more help in there." The cloaked man kindly suggested, chuckling as his droid whirred happily and quickly rolled after the other unit before they disappeared into the ship.

"Come on." Rey said, walking past Gray to show him where he could start. "We've been loosing power to the thrusters midway through flight, and we don't know what is causing it. It's eating up our fuel too so we can't make the jump to hyperdrive." She explained.

"Not that running out of fuel midway through hyperdrive is a good thing." He replied, setting his toolbox down as she removed a panel from the underbelly.

"We checked everything that we could while in flight, but now that we're on land we need to check the wiring and see if it's something there."

"Ah. The tedious work. Rodger, captain." He said mockingly, but got to work with checking on the wires from the section that she revealed, leaving her to do as she needed elsewhere.

As night fell, several other crew members brought out lights so they could continue to work after dark. The town slowly shutting down and falling to sleep as the hour became late, and soon they were the only light source on in the whole town. Gray yawned but replaced the panel he just finished checking under, making sure it was secure before removing another one. The inside was scorched black and several wires were melted together.

"Hey Rey, Chewbaca. I think I found the problem." He said loudly to them, and they both came over. "Looks like it was wiring. Caught fire and now it's interrupting the signal to the thrusters."

"I'll go get some replacements." Rey said, leaving him and the Wookie alone as they tried their best to remove the damaged areas to see what all needed to be fixed. When Rey returned, Gray let out another yawn and stretched out his shoulders.

"Well, it looks like you guys are going to be on your way in the morning then hua? I think I will take me leave then." He picked up what tools he had dropped and after they had been put back in their place he hoisted his toolbox up and gave a quick whistle for Red.

"You know our offer still stands." Rey told him, a small smile on her face lighting up her tired eyes, as she handed the appropriate components to Chewbaca. "You could come with us."

Gray made a point to make it look like he was thinking about it. "Stay here and under the radar where I might be able to live out the rest of my days in peace?" He held up one hand dramatically. "Or go with a bunch of people who might try to kill me, and who will most certainly lead me to my death in some gruesome but undoubtedly flashy way?" He held up his other hand like a scale, tipping it towards the first hand. "I think I will have to pass. Thank you though."

Rey smiled and chuckled at him, holding out her hand for him to shake. "Thanks for your help, all the same. Maybe we will cross paths again some day."

Gray clasped her hand. "The Force works in mysterious ways." He whispered to her, smiling an unseen smile as hers faltered for a moment before widening. Red slowly rolled down the ramp towards him, obviously not really wanting to go. "Come on, Little Red. We need to get you to bed." She whirred quietly at him, and he chuckled. "Nice to meet you, Rey. Good luck in your travels." There was a small amount of sadness in her eyes as he turned to leave that he wished he could have helped, however that was not the path he was supposed to take. His was a lonely one wrought with blood and sadness that he wished no other being would have to walk but knew that many others did before him and many other will after him.

The walk through town was uneventful. No one was awake to bother him. Even bad towns had their bed times. It wasn't until they were safe at home and Gray had unclothed, getting ready for bed with Red began to talk.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly, getting under the thin covers to his bed. She whirred softly at him. "No they don't need us, Little Red. They are strong and will be just fine once they make it to one of their bases." Her whirring became a little more frantic, beeping at him with lights. "I am nothing but trouble for them. If I am found out then the Resistance will have an even larger target on their back." He countered, sitting up and watching as she rolled around on the wooden floor beeping and whirring. "Did he really say that?" Consideration now came across his face as he sighed and rubbed his face but got out of bed and walked to the book case. "If I look will you let me sleep?" He asked and Red whirred with glee in agreement.

Pulling a book off the top shelf and opening it up to the front page, he punched in a code to the hidden keypad. Replacing the book, the sound of a lock moving met his ears and he carefully pushed the bookcase aside to show the entrance to the cave. The candles were still lit though they grew short, just enough time for him to get what he needed done and then they could burn out during the night so he could replace them in the morning.

Settling down in the center of the light he crossed his legs and rested his hands gently on his knees. Closing his eyes and breathing deeply he willed for the Force to grant him a vision of the fate of Resistance if allowed to continue on this path. The pebbles on the floor floated gently off the ground before Red and then himself jointed them in suspension. He focused, clearing his mind of all but will of the Force that surrounds the group.

Darkness was all that was around him until the soft breeze from the snowy tundra could be felt against his bare skin. He opened his eyes and saw he was on a frozen planet with several small domes sticking out of the ground. It was one of the Resistance bases. Rubbing the cold off of his arms he made his way towards the domes, finding one of them with an unlocked door. He wandered around but found no one. The base was covered in dust and obviously had not been used in many years. Looking around more, he still found nothing, the base was entirely empty. He waited inside of one of the domes for hours, watching the sky for any sign of life but none came. The feelings of loss and loneliness nagging at him until he felt a void in the Force. Life that was intertwined deeply with it was gone. Pulling himself out of the vision he and all of the other objects dropped to the ground. Gray breathed heavily but shook his head and closed his eyes again. He needed to make sure of what the empty base meant. So he willed the Force to grant him another vision, this was of the fate of the Resistance if he joined them.

This time the Force took him to another planet, one that he recognized but could not remember the name. It was a beautiful planet with houses built on top of the water, looking up at the vast mountain ranges covered in green trees that dripped with colorful and fragrant flowers. He was much older, age starting to show on his skin and face, but in his arms he held a newborn child. The little child was sleeping soundly in his grasp, swaddled tightly in a soft blanket. Him in the vision began to weep with joy, while the one observing watched at a complete loss for words.

Opening his eyes he carefully lowered himself and all the other objects to the ground, Red slowly rolling up to him and waiting for his answer. His purple eyes looked over at her and he sighed heavily at his droid, but smiled at her.

"All right. You were right. I'll pack my stuff." Her whirrs echoed loudly up and down the cave walls, and Gray laughed at her standing up and entering his house. Changing back into his clothes he secured his belt tightly before coming back to the dusty chest in the cave. Picking up a rock and smashing the lock with it he opened the chest, revealing three lightsaber hilts. They were all silver, but only one shined in the dimming light. The two matte ones were engraved with the image of kryat dragons, while the shiny one was simple and without blemish or mark. Hooking them to his belt carefully he stood and closed the hidden door behind him, looking over at Red who was happily waiting by the door. He had all he needed, not that he had much to bring in the first place anyway.

"I'm ready." She whirred in glee as he placed his cloak on and opened the door. Taking one last quick glace around the tiny home, he smiled and closed the door locking it for good. So fate did lead him towards them. If he wasn't as tired as he was he would have thought it funny, but sadly it was lost on him as he walked back down the road to town.

When he came back to the Millennium Falcon, Rey and Chewbaca were just finishing up. They put the tools back where they belonged and had begun turning off their work lights.

"Long time no see." He joked, approaching Rey with a hidden smile.

"Oh?" She looked over to him with a raised eye brow, sleep desperately was needed for her. Then she realized who it was and smiled brightly, eyes lighting up. "Gray. You're back. Have you decided to come with us?" She asked, though seemed to already know the answer.

"Yeah, well. I decided that if I was going to die eventually anyway I might as well do it in some flashy, heart-wrenching way that would surely being tears to the eyes of thousands." He joked, chuckling and she laughed quietly. "Besides, Red here was worried about her new boyfriend." Red looked up quickly at him, whirring and beeping in a protest, making both of them laugh harder.

"Well, it's good to see you again. I think." She said making a motion around her head like a hood, but smiled at him. "So do we get to be on a first name basis then?" Her eyes were hopeful, and Chewbaca cooed at her to get inside, having already finished take down.

"Maybe later." Gray confessed. "Still going to have to work up to that one."

"Maybe even get to see what's under that hood?" Rey asked again as they began to walk onto the ship together. Red had already gone a head to find her orange counterpart.

The cloaked man chuckled. "Ever the curious one now aren't you?" He asked with a smile. A flush came to her cheeks as she blinked tiredly unable to come up with a good enough rebuttal, instead occupying herself with fiddling with the hem of her sleeve. "I will be satisfied with sleeping in a chair." Gray told her as they turned into the central area where the floor was covered in Resistance fighters trying to get some sleep from their most recent adventures. He gave her a smile and found an empty space at the circular table, plopping himself down into it, crossing his arms over his chest and dipping his head to sleep. Oh what a fun morning the Resistance is going to have to see a 'shady individual' skulked in the corner sleeping. He wondered how they were going to react. Most would be alarmed, to say the least, others might try remove him from the ship. Gray did wonder if any would just accept the fact that he was there and act as normal people would when meeting a stranger under the same flag. A smile came to his lips as that thought crossed his mind. Was he really going to join them, or was he just here to assist them?

Only the Force could say, and it was just sitting back to watch the show.

Morning came without incident, and with mixed feelings from the cloaked man sitting in the middle of a ship filled with Resistance fighters. Happily no one else was awake at the time so that would avoid an incident, however that also meant that he didn't get as much sleep as he would have liked. Groaning quietly and rubbing his face with his gloved hands, Gray decided that he would have a look around the ship to see if he could find a quiet place to stretch his sore back when the familiar feeling of Red bumping up against his leg caught his attention. Looking down he found his little droid looking up at him, whirring even more quietly than normal.

"Good morning to you too. Did you have a good night with your new friend?" He asked with a smile on his face, watching her head dip shyly he chuckled. "I understand, Little Red." Reaching down he patted her head as he stood, beginning to walk away with her close to his feet. "Want to help me find a place to stretch where I wont get in the way?" She beeped in response, rolling forward faster to lead him to a room she had found.

The room was small and had crates of components for the ship lining the walls, held back by netting, but the floor was clear and that was all he could have hoped for. Stepping in he began removing his shoes and gloves, leaving his cloak on, and placing them beside the door on the inside. Red stood at the entrance to the door, standing watch in case someone came their way. Moving to the center of the room, Gray stood and breathed deeply, reaching up with his hands that hit the ceiling. Huffing slightly he bent down and reached for his toes, wrapping his hand around his bare feet and breathing deeply as the back of his legs stretched out. After staying in this position for a few moments he placed his palms flat on the ground and kicked his feet out behind him so he was in a push-up position, then lowered his hips to the ground as he arched his head back. Several pops came from his back that caused him to sigh in relief.

It was an hour of peaceful stretching before Red beeped an alert to him, letting him know that there was someone approaching. Smiling to himself and making sure his hood was on properly, Gray went to put his boots and gloves back on as the other BB unit came up with Poe.

"Hey. Rey told me you decided to come with us." He said with a smile, sleep still ruffling his hair in a way that would surely swoon any woman, and rested one arm on the doorway. "What were you doing in here?"

"General sabotage." Gray responded with an unseen smile, chuckling. "No I was just stretching out my back from sleeping in the chair last night. Didn't want to get in the way of anyone." He finished strapping his boots and slipped his gloves on, looking up at his new companion.

"Well, everyone is up and we were going to be leaving soon. There isn't much food on this rust bucket, but we have some stuff if you need something to tide you over until we get to the base." Poe offered, standing up straight again and putting his hands in his pocket.

"I think I can survive a few hours without food."

The Resistance pilot chuckled. "Yeah looks like you have enough meat on your bones to last you a few weeks." He joked with a smile.

"Hey now I work very hard on my figure." Gray put a hand to his hip and the other to his hidden face as he posed in a girly fashion, causing Poe to laugh and wrap and arm around his shoulder as the two began to walk down the narrow halls towards the center area.

"Well big guy, if you're joining us, then I think we should get introductions out of the way." Poe patted the cloaked man chest with a smile, and before Gray could protest they arrived in the center of the ship where it seemed that everyone who was sleeping on the floor the night before was awake and having conversations amongst themselves. All of the chatter came to a quick halt as they birthed the entry way to the room, every eye turned to them. Poe was still smiling without a care, arm around the shoulders of the large figure beside him. "Fellow Resistance fighters. This is our newest recruit!" He was excited, though the others didn't seem to share in his enthusiasm for the shady figure in the room.

"You may call me Gray, and this is Red." He said after a there was a long silence amongst all of the members of the crowd, stepping aide to show the little red droid who was shyly tucked behind his legs, but still able to talk to the orange droid who followed beside her. The crowd remained silent, taking in the man hidden beneath the dark cloak with the small droid at his feet. Some were kind enough to smile and nod at him, while most just remained motionless in their observation. "Wow, I don't think I have ever been greeted with such overwhelming responses before." Gray laughed, then smiled at the others as a few were taken aback by his sudden sarcasm.

"Poe." Reys voice broke the atmosphere with quiet fear. "It's Rose."

The pilots face dropped and he quickly followed her. Her eyes lingered on Gray for a moment before she turned and rushed down the hallway with BB hot on their heels.

Taking her look as a sign, the hooded man took his leave of the room as well, following them silently as they rushed to one of the sleeping chambers set into the bowls of the ship. When he reached the room, his purple eyes scanned over the scene. The dark skinned man, Finn if his memory was serving correctly, was leaning against the wall opposite of the girl that was laying in the bottom bunk, his mouth covered by a hand as his eyes glossed over with tears. The older woman from the other evening was knelt over her, the girls hand clasped between her own as she bowed her head. Rey slowly approached the pair, placing a hand on the older womans shoulder. Watching as the others were beginning the breathing process for this girl, Gray huffed quietly to himself, moving Poe aside so he could enter the room.

"Poe, go take Finn into the center room." He told the man, who looked at him with questioning defiance. Gray moved farther into the room, placing a hand on Reys shoulder and speaking softly to her. "We are about to take off, I think you could be used more on the bridge." Tears brimmed her eyes as she looked at him, and though it couldn't be seen he offered her a soft smile. She nodded a few times and then went out of the room, as she left he turned towards Poe who was struggling with Finn.

"No! Why should I leave?" His voice was loud and upset.

"Because if you stay then you will just get in the way." Gray spoke clearly to the man, not turning towards him. Finn tensed, shouldering away his friends hands and then huffing his way out of the room. Poe followed him to the door way and looked back at the hooded man. The look in his eyes was questioning, but hard. Gray waved him away, turning to the girl no longer breathing on the bed, kneeling beside her. "How long has she been like this?" He turned towards the woman he was left in the room with, her eyes sparkling with intelligence and understanding.

"Only a few minutes." She replied, holding the girls hand tighter.

"Good. Would hate for her to have been dead longer for my warmup run. Red," The little droid whirred at him. "Close and lock the door, stand guard so one one tries to enter." She beeped in response, following his orders. His purple eyes then went over to the form of the girl in the bunk. Her clothes were tattered, skin was bruised, burnt, and bloodied from whatever battle she was in. Pain contorted her face even in her passing. Gray cracked his knuckles and neck before breathing deeply, placing a hand on the girls forehead and the other on her stomach. Questions would come and would have to be answered, but that was not the concern right now, he would deal with what would come at a later time.

Focusing on the Force that flowed through her body, he was able to see what ailed her. Internal bleeding from a cracked spleen, several broken ribs, a punctured lung, trauma to the chest, and one nasty concussion. Sighing slightly he closed his eyes to concentrate, willing the Force within her to bend to him. Her cells began to rebuild, trauma receded with the blood that pooled within her body, and broken bones were slowly resetting themselves. Pain gripped his chest but he continued, waiting until all of her ailments were healed before focusing on her heart, willing for it to beat again. His pain intensified as the neurons in her brain began to fire again, starting her heart and bringing her back again from her death.

Concentrating on the girl in the bed he didn't notice the passage of time around him, or as the older woman shifted about the room slowly to make herself comfortable as the days with their internal clocks ticked on, making her sleep and wake at each of the passings. The focus was on the girl, even as his chest exploded with pain, sending lava like heat into his belly and head. He had endured worse, this wouldn't kill him, but it was going to take a long time before he would be at full capacity again.

As breath slowly entered her again, her eyes remained closed, but her torso gently rose as air filled her lungs. "Welcome back sunshine." Gray said whispered with a smile to hide the pain he was feeling. Tucking his hands under his cloak he brought them to his chest where the pain radiated. The woman beside him stood up and brought her hands to the girls face as he moved away from her, cloak covering the fact that he stumbled slightly from fatigue. They womans eyes went to him, they showed questions that she held back as he turned towards the door. It opened normally, and Red beeped quietly at him.

"Yeah. Could you get Finn please? I am going to go back to the cargo room." His voice was able to mask the pain, but as he coughed he tasted blood. Shaking his head to himself, he watched as the little red droid rolled away quickly to find the man in question, then turned himself down the hall to his destination, moving slowly and holding his chest tightly.

Upon reaching the room he sat down in the center of the room, breathing deeply as he crossed his legs beneath him and meditated. Slowly the pain receded, pulling back from wrapping his innards and holding his mind to his chest before dieing all together, breathing it out with every heave of his lungs. He didn't know how much time had passed while he was in the room with the girl, nor did he know how long he was meditating before someone joined him, he never was one for time and space travel always made it worse. His purple eyes opened at the presence, falling upon the frame of Rey. She leaned against the door frame, hands fiddling with one another as she waited to be noticed. One of the benefits of having a hood that covered the face, seeing people as they contemplated how to approach. This was one of the more adorable ways, Gray had to admit, so he let her sit there until she was ready to make a move.

"Gray?" She asked quietly, and he moved his head up slightly so she knew she had his attention. "May I come in?"

He made a thoughtful sound, moving a hand to clasp his hidden chin. "I suppose I could squeeze you into my busy schedule of meetings." A chuckle left his lips as she smiled, stepping into the room. The hooded man extended a hand in front of him, indicating for her to sit with him. She mimicked his position on the floor, their knees about a foot apart. Red was quietly positioned behind the man, lights off as if she was sleeping. He could see that her mind swimmed with questions, but she couldn't tell which one to begin with, and as she opened her mouth to ask one Gray raised a hand to stop her.

Rey recoiled for a moment, confused but not insulted by his movement. When he put his hand down she waited for a moment before trying to ask another question only to be stopped by his hand again. The young woman straightened her back, and tried to speak again but closed her mouth in mild frustration when Gray raised his hand again, before he laughed lightly.

"Sorry. I just wanted to see how long I could keep that up before you smacked me." Her face flushed at his light tone, but chuckled at herself none the less, reaching over and punching his knee lightly in jest. "Oh ouch ouch!" Gray recoiled, pulling his knee up to his chest in mock pain, causing her to laugh harder with a smile gracing her face.

"Oh please. It's not like you couldn't fix yourself anyway." Rey kept the smile on her face, but her eyes said something else.

"It doesn't work like that." He replied, a small smile on his hidden face.

"What was 'that', anyway?" She leaned forward, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.

Gray sighed, leaning forward as well. "Ever the curious one now aren't you?"

"Ever the secretive one, now aren't you?" She mocked him, causing him to laugh. The pain in his chest was mostly gone however some blood still lined his mouth as he expressed his enjoyment.

"Now you're getting it!"

Rey rolled her eyes, but they remained bright as the smile stayed on her face. "I think you have to much fun with yourself."

Gray laughed harder for a moment, wrapping his arms around his stomach as he began to cough trying to catch his breath. "Well, someone has to keep me entertained." He chuckled out as air began to return to his lungs, and a soft blush came across the tops of the females cheeks. She was far to cute for her own good.

"Seriously though! You brought Rose back from the dead!" Reys voice level was normal, but it bolstered with excitement.

"Really? Are you sure?" He questioned with a smile, causing her to huff and roll her eyes.

"Yes I am sure!"

Gray leaned in closely to her, reaching his hands out to clasp her face as his gloved fingers pulling a stretching at her skin. Her brown eyes held confusion as he did so, hands coming up to grab onto his wrists as she pulled back slightly from the weight of his unseen gaze.

"My dear lady, I do believe that you are suffering from space hysteria!" He exclaimed in a joking tone, releasing her face, resting his hands on her shoulders instead. "I am sorry to tell you but there is no cure."

Rey laughed, and Gray smiled from beneath his hood, standing up and offering her a hand to help her. She smiled her bright smile and placed a slender hand in his, letting him pull her to her feet with ease. She shook her head at him as she stood beside him, but kept her thoughts to herself as he left the room with her close behind.

"We shouldn't be far from the base now." She told him as they walked.

"Oh? How long have we been traveling?"

"Two hundred parsecs, and we have another fifty to go."

"Man and I was meditating though all of that? By the stars what a lazy bum I am! Are you sure you want someone this lazy fighting with you?"

She chuckled at him. "I'm sure there's more to you than meets the eye." Her brown eyes looked up into his hood with a smile that made him smile back.

"Well, there not much meeting your eye right now."

"Then I guess we will have to change that now won't we?"

Gray could not help but grin wider at her and shake his head, the sparkle in her eyes contagious as he turned his attention forward again. "Well, I think we should check on little miss sunshine." Suddenly turning down the hall that lead towards where the girl Rose was resting. Rey followed him, and as they approached the open door to her room laughter met them in the corridor. The cloaked man stepped aside and allowed for the female to enter first, then leaned against the door frame quietly as the young woman greeted the girl still resting in bed.

Rose smiled, though her eyes were tired, and returned the greeting in kind. Gray watched as she interacted with the other people standing in the room, no one noticed him as he remained on the fringe of the encounters and he would rather it stay that way. Though he had already brought attention to himself, he would like for it to remain as minimal as possible. The less trouble he could bring to them the better. He sighed at the thoughts of his Visions though. It seemed unlikely though for this was where the Force wanted him, at least for now.

Red rolled over to BB who was standing beside his owner, and the two beeped and whirred quietly to each other. The noise brought Poes' attention from the girl in the bunk to them, and then up to the hooded figure skulking in the doorway.

His crooked smile widened at the sight of the man. "The man of the hour has arrived." He announced, and all eyes turned to him.

Shaking his head lightly at his introduction, Gray raised a hand to wave lightly at Rose, who smiled widely and gratefully at him with eyes filled with tears.

"You're the one who..." She couldn't finish the sentence.

"Me? Oh yes, I am the one who forgot to take the air break off before we left planet." He joked, waving a hand dismissively at her. She choked a laugh, tears rolling down her rounded face. Finn was by her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, his body tense as he looked down at her.

"Well, I'm glad we could get that fixed." Her voice was quiet, but filled with gratitude. With a nod, Gray turned to leave the room but stopped with she called to him. "Do I get to know your name?"

He smiled to himself, wondering how long it would be before he could stop introducing himself. "You may call me Gray." The hooded man said over his shoulder then turned and motioned towards his little red droid. "And that is Red." He offered her an unseen smile, but she returned it naturally.

"I am Rose. Thank you for..." She took in a sharp breath, but then smiled even as a few more tears rolled down her cheeks. "For taking the air break off."

Finn shook his head, still stiff with the jokes that were thrown around when the topic was supposed to be much heavier.

Gray nodded and gave a mock salute to her before turning and leaving the room with Red close behind. He returned to the sanctuary that was the cargo room, laying down on his back in the middle of the room. "Ugh. Red what are you going to do with me?" The little droid whirred, tilting her head at him. "I'm going soft, coming out of hiding – kind of." He rolled his eyes at himself. "Helping out the last people in the universe that I would ever want to be associated with." She beeped quietly at him, rolling up next to him and resting her head on his shoulder. Chuckling to himself he patted her head with his opposite hand, offering a thanks for her kindness.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, Poe and BB-8 came in and idly chatted with them until they reached their destination. They assisted with the unloading of the very little supplies the ship carried with them, following in line with the few others there were carrying crates to the base they were going to occupy for the time being. The air was hot and muggy, smacking Gray in the face as his cloaked body left the climate controlled environment. A jungle area is where they landed, the trees grew far above their heads towards the almost white colored sky, and thick foliage covered the ground reaching up to his hips as he walked through them with the others. He noted the colorful flowers that dotted most of the plants and the variety of insects that traveled from one colorful bloom to another in their never ending quest for pollen to feed their ever growing masses. Small, dark colored birds would occasionally swoop down from the branches at the flying insects, swallowing them whole before perching and going for another.

Looking ahead he was able to see what was left of the base, a low lying stone temple covered in so much moss and vine it was almost indiscernible from the landscape around it. The entrance they were lead through made Gray duck to avoid hitting his head, and into a hall way just barely wide enough for him to fit through with the crate. Dust sat on every crack and brick, so thick from the humidity that only when they came into contact with it would it move from its resting place only to cling to their clothing like dirty spider webs. As the light from the entrance began to dwindle, they were given space, rooms to either side of them with openings to the outside world that were veiled with the overgrowth. They placed their packages in either room, and Gray looked around at the ancient looking control panels that took up most of the space in the room he occupied. They were undamaged, and most likely still functioned – them being useful was another topic all together, but at least it seemed they would turn on. If they had power.

Other Rebellion personnel were talking about the functionality of the base, and a general map of where everything was. He listened to them but played coy as he wondered about the equipment, keeping his hands to himself. The base was small, but had a series of underground tunnels that lead to other bases in this area, the condition of the tunnels was unknown as well as the accessibility of the generator which was housed in another base. Sounded like some important details they were missing.

Having his fill of eavesdropping, Gray left the room and squeezed his way out of the base, stretching and inhaling deeply the heavy air. He caught sight of Finn, as he approached quickly but his steps were almost hesitant.

"Bit of a change in scenery, huh?" The dark skinned man asked, and Gray remained silent, feeling that he didn't come to talk about the plants, watching as the other man moistened his lips before continuing. "Look, I don't know what you did, or how you did it, but thank you." Finns dark eyes looked genuinely grateful, and the cloaked man gave him a hidden smile.

"Well, maybe it can teach her a little self-preservation." A chuckle laced his words, and Finn tried to smile but when he couldn't make it stay for longer than a moment he straightened his jacket and turned to enter the base. "There are a lot of flowers in the area." Finn froze at his words, turning and looking at the hidden man. "Only kindness can heal the soul and mend emotions." Gray looked at him, then gave a small wave before leaving in the direction of the ship. "Don't pick any with thorns!" He called back to the still silent Rebellion fighter, smiling and shaking his head to himself as he trudged quietly through the undergrowth towards the Millennium Falcon.

He found Rey and Chewbaca working on covering the top of the ship with leaves from the area to keep it concealed, and as he was about to speak a movement caught his eye. A small bird like creature walking out of the ship with large curious eyes, looking around and cooing to itself. He raised an eye brow and opened his mouth to speak. "There seems to be a small flightless bird on board." Rey turned to look at him from the top of the ship, taking notice of his presence.

"Oh, they're just Porgs. They're harmless, good meat if you really need it." She said a little breathless as she moved the leaves almost the size of her body around to cover all bits of silver from the sky.

"Well, that makes everything ok then." Gray said sarcastically, shaking his head lightly as the Wookie cooed an answer as well. "I was going to go scout the area. I don't know where BB ran off with Red, so if you see her could you let her know?"

She raised her head again, looking around her area before back down at him. "I thought she was always with you?"

"You've known me two days. I don't think you would really know my droids social patterns."

A look crossed her face, and then she smiled, moving to where Chewbaca was throwing the leaves up at her from the ground. She spoke to him and he held his arms up to catch her as she jumped off the edge, setting her down all gentile like on the ground. Rey came over to Gray and smiled up at his hidden face. "If you're going out someone might as well come with you to make sure you're safe." Her smile was wide, and he couldn't help but return it.

"Will you be my escort then, dear lady?" He bowed mockingly to her, and she laughed, pushing his shoulder in jest. Walking with her as she went into the ship she shooed away the small creature that was on the ramp, it fell pathetically to the ground off the edge, getting up and shaking off the dust and mindlessly wandering around with a dull expression. Gray shook his head and went down and picked up the small creature, turning it towards him in his hands. It's eyes saddened, and it let out pathetic noises as it quivered lightly. Rey returned with a satchel bag over her shoulder and a bow staff over the other. "If this is food then it needs to be kept in a pen. Not a good idea to introduce it to a new environment."

She took it from his hand and placed it back on board, underneath an empty crate so it was caged, and it cooed sadly. They really were sad creatures. What kind of ecosystem did they survive in? Seemed like everything would eat them.

"There. Now, shall we go?" She smiled at him, and he just shook his head.

"Sure."

They remained mostly quiet as they traveled around, dipping into one of the lower valleys and back up the other side, observing the flora but experiencing no fauna besides the birds and insects already cataloged in Grays head. A river flowed strong through the bottom of the valley they crossed, and they tried to see where it went to from the top of the other hill, but the foliage blocked their view. Gray sighed to himself when he felt a pull from the Force, soft and coaxing towards the opposite side of the hill. He turned to face it as Rey did, and she looked at him quickly.

"You felt it too?" She asked, expectation high in her voice as she smiled slightly.

"The thorns on that bush? No, because I was smart enough to go around." Gray replied, motioning to the small amount of skin that was exposed on her legs, her light skin lined with red from the tines of the plant she had just stumbled from a few minutes ago.

Rey huffed at him, shaking her head and trudging off in the direction that the Force was asking him to go. Chuckling to himself he followed her, watching as the light was slowly blocked out by the ever thickening growths, the vines becoming thicker and dripping like water from the trees to block their view, and bushes becoming denser causing them to slow their pace or risk falling to their depths to be swallowed by the greenery. Eventually they were lead to a singular doorway, closed off with vines and enshrouded in moss, and Rey looked at him expectantly.

"What?"

"You felt the Force pull you here, didn't you?" She talked with her hands, first motioning to him, then the door, then to herself when she rested her hand on her chest.

"If I remember right, you were the one that lead the way." Gray mimicked her, motioning to himself then her and lastly to the door.

Rey tried to soften her look, smiling gently. "Come on, you can tell me, we're alone, and I can feel it too." Her voice was coaxing, but he just laughed.

"Your phrasing leaves a lot to be desired." His hand raised and moved the vines aside, motioning for her to enter first but she grasped his wrist and lowered it forcefully.

"No, you just need to take things more seriously." Her mouth hardened. "Look, if you don't want the others to know that's fine, but what do you have to hide? What am I going to do? Tell the First Order?"

His guts twisted with their contact, but he kept his hidden face straight. "There are many things in this universe to take seriously, but this is not one of them." His normally light voice dipped slightly, and let off a small amount of the weight that he carried upon his hidden shoulders. Rey recoiled slightly, realizing her outburst and removed her hand from his wrist. "Now, may we please enter? My curiosity is killing me." He grinned, trying to lighten the mood, and slowly nodded her head, letting him hold the vines aside for her.

Following after her, Gray looked around the dark hall, vision lost towards the far end. At least he didn't have to duck to get in this one, and it was wide enough to fit the two of them side by side.

"I don't suppose you have a light stashed in those robes, do you?" Rey tried to joke, and he chuckled at her.

"No. Can't you find your way with the Force?" He teased back, and she smiled lightly in very dim light.

"Does it work like that?"

He shrugged "Can you really put limitation on it?" His head turned to her with a mischievous hint in in his tone.

Rey contemplated for a few minutes before reaching into her satchel bag, bringing out two halves of a lightsaber hilt. Grays purple eyes rolled over it as she turned them over in her hands.

"I don't know if it will ever work again, if it can be fixed, but if its the Force that made it..." She trailed off slightly, placing the two halves together and closing her eyes in hard concentration.

Gray shook his head, feeling the Force move around her and to the hilt, looking outside to see where the sun sat in the sky. Minutes passed before she looked down at the still broken pieces in defeat, and he gently took them from her.

"On the right track, but not quite." He played with them, examining the smelted insides after moving closer to the entrance to get better lighting. "The crystal is damaged. It could function, in theory, but it would need another hilt. The rest is beyond salvage." His eyes went to her. "Where did you get this?"

"Someone who also didn't want to be found." She said with a look on her face as if she just won something, and he chuckled.

"Well, kyber crystals were taken by the Empire long ago, so to have a hilt with one either makes you a thief," She flinched, eyes hardening at the accusation. "Or the daughter of a long line of Jedi." He offered her the pieces back, which she snatched and stuffed them back in place.

"I am neither!"

He laughed at her offended exclamation.

"Oh darn. If you had been the daughter of a Jedi I would have told you everything."

Her mouth opened then clamped shut as he laughed at her.

"That's not funny." She said with a smile, chuckling as he continued.

"No, but your face was." Her smile widened as she shook her head. "The sun is getting low. We can explore this place tomorrow when we bring some proper lights." Gray stated, slipping out of the vine covered opening and trudging in the direction they had come from, Rey not far behind.

_-T-_

Find her.

That was the last thing Kylo Ren had shouted at him before he scrambled out of the room, away from what ever wrath he might still have spilling out. General Hux now made his way down the sleek hallways of the floating base that was half on fire while the other half was covered in blood and dead bodies. He pushed the thoughts away of what it would take in repairs and clean up to get it functioning at a hundred percent again, not to mention how many new personnel he would have to find and train, and the replacement he would need for Captain Phasma.

His brow crinkled and his hand smoothed his hair back as he steadied his breathing for the sake of his beating heart. That was not priority right now. Priority was finding the girl that just killed one of the most powerful entities in the universe. Hux stomped his way into his office, slamming his hands down on the desk that occupied the center of the room. How was he supposed to pull that off? It's not like he could just send squads after her. He already had enough on his hands with recruitment just with the damage that she had done on the ship, imagine the causalities that she could cause if he sent people out to her. But someone needed to go, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be him!

He sighed and walked around the desk to his chair, sitting down in the soft leather and placing his fingers against his forehead. Who could he send? His eyes opened slightly when a thought came to him. Why should he send any of his forces when there are people from the lowest ranks of society more than willing to go after her for him? All they wanted was a little incentive, and he could certainly afford that.

Quickly pulling out his com-pad, he pressed a few buttons and a soft womans voice came across the speakers.

"Yes, General Hux?"

"Karalynth, get me a listing of all of the known thief and assassin hideouts, and another listing of the most wanted assassins in the galaxy."

"Yes sir."

Her voice was followed by a click, and he leaned back in his chair, putting his fingers together in front of his face with a smile plastered across it. Maybe this would be easier than he was originally thinking.


End file.
